EU leaders fail to agree on von der Leyen’s second term
EU leaders failed to back Ursula von der Leyen for another term as European Commission president Monday night, despite assurances from France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Olaf Scholz in recent days that they were nearing a deal, three EU diplomats told POLITICO.
“There is no agreement tonight,” European Council President Charles Michel told reporters late Monday night after the leaders’ dinner.
A European diplomat, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the talks like the others quoted in the piece, said while negotiators agreed on three names, leaders will continue discussions at a later date, presumably at their next meeting on June 27-28.
In the wake of the European election, an early consensus emerged around Germany’s von der Leyen for a second term as European Commission president, Portugal’s António Costa as European Council president, Malta’s Roberta Metsola as the European Parliament boss and Estonia’s Kaja Kallas as foreign policy chief.
Expectations were high as the 27 heads of state and government met in Brussels in the hope of dividing the bloc’s four top jobs among the current coalition of the center-right European People’s Party, socialists and liberals.
After Macron’s party was trounced by the far right in the election, his decision to dissolve the French parliament and call snap a election had seemingly sped up discussions on top jobs. Typically, negotiations take weeks.
